# Famous actresses that don't seem special to you.. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 12, 2001, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-actresses-that-dont-seem-special-to-you/81196 "2001-09-12T23:51:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![lty\_Bibbity\_Pop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c68b51/32.png) [@lty\_Bibbity\_Pop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lty_Bibbity_Pop)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2001, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-actresses-that-dont-seem-special-to-you/81196/1 "2001-09-12T23:51:21Z")
Vanessa Redgrave always seems like the same character to me, one that’s a weak actress over-emoting and “chewing the scenery”. Meryl Streep puzzles me, too. She can seem like a great many different people, but they never seem to be the person she’s playing at the time. She will be in a role where the character is described as glamorous and simply appear snobish. Or one where the character is supposed to be a weak-brained down-and-out commoner, and she comes off like a college professor in a beggar costume. ---
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2001, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-actresses-that-dont-seem-special-to-you/81196/2 "2001-09-12T23:58:25Z")
Andy McDowell ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2001, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-actresses-that-dont-seem-special-to-you/81196/3 "2001-09-13T01:20:42Z")
The girl from American Beauty (not Thorna, the other one that the dad was obsessed with) and Sugar and Spice. She doesn’t strike me as particularly talented, and her eyes scare me. ---
**Author:** ![MonkeyMensch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@MonkeyMensch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MonkeyMensch)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2001, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-actresses-that-dont-seem-special-to-you/81196/4 "2001-09-13T02:27:00Z")
Glenn Close. Maybe my memory’s failing me but I can’t recall anything she’s done that has impressed me. ---
**Author:** ![CrankyAsAnOldMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crankyasanoldman/32/11670_2.png) [@CrankyAsAnOldMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrankyAsAnOldMan)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2001, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-actresses-that-dont-seem-special-to-you/81196/5 "2001-09-13T02:47:02Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by lty Bibbity Pop \* > \*\*Vanessa Redgrave always seems like the same character to me, one that’s a weak actress over-emoting and “chewing the scenery”. > > \*\* Mrs. Dalloway might change your mind. Very understated acting. But to answer your original question… Helen Hunt ---
**Author:** ![GENE\_STONER](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/2bfe46/32.png) [@GENE\_STONER](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GENE_STONER)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2001, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-actresses-that-dont-seem-special-to-you/81196/6 "2001-09-13T03:09:08Z")
Elizibeth Tailor- When the hell was her last good role? ---
**Author:** ![Crunchy\_Frog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ebca7d/32.png) [@Crunchy\_Frog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crunchy_Frog)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2001, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-actresses-that-dont-seem-special-to-you/81196/7 "2001-09-13T04:02:57Z")
Sandra Bullock - got lucky with Speed. Has she done anything of quality since? ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2001, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-actresses-that-dont-seem-special-to-you/81196/8 "2001-09-13T13:07:44Z")
Liv Tyler. 'Nuff said. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2001, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-actresses-that-dont-seem-special-to-you/81196/9 "2001-09-13T13:25:00Z")
Gwyneth Paltrow is an obvious choice. Julia Roberts has no range. Andie MacDowell - good Lord, why is she a spokesmodel? She’s UUUUUUUGLYYYY! Sandra Bullock - what the hell’s the big deal about her? ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2001, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-actresses-that-dont-seem-special-to-you/81196/10 "2001-09-13T13:36:31Z")
Meg Ryan, Helen Hunt, and Geena Davis. Pretty, they photograph well, they can act, but they’re not getting me on the edge of my seat… ---
**Author:** ![aegypt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/76d3ee/32.png) [@aegypt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aegypt)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2001, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-actresses-that-dont-seem-special-to-you/81196/11 "2001-09-13T13:39:47Z")
Nicole Kidman. ---
**Author:** ![naughty\_wicked\_zoot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@naughty\_wicked\_zoot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naughty_wicked_zoot)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2001, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-actresses-that-dont-seem-special-to-you/81196/12 "2001-09-13T14:12:28Z")
i completely second meryl streep, geena davis and julia roberts. all extremely overrated. may i also offer elizabeth shue and winona ryder? bleeccck! ---
**Author:** ![Legomancer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/779978/32.png) [@Legomancer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Legomancer)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2001, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-actresses-that-dont-seem-special-to-you/81196/13 "2001-09-13T14:16:33Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by naughty wicked zoot \* > \*\*i completely second meryl streep, geena davis and julia roberts. all extremely overrated. > > may i also offer elizabeth shue and winona ryder? bleeccck! \*\* I’ve always had the hots for Winona Ryder, always thought she was a wonder to behold. But I eventually had to realize that she’s been in only one movie I can stand to watch more than five minutes of, and that’s “Heathers”. And yeah, she didn’t do anything remarkable in that or any other role. I still like looking at her, though. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2001, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-actresses-that-dont-seem-special-to-you/81196/14 "2001-09-13T20:17:55Z")
I never understood why guys get so impressed with Renée Zellweger. She doesn’t even look like anything. If I passed her on the street I would not even give her a second glance. So she’s blonde? BFD. What’s so all-fired great about being blonde anyway? ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2001, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-actresses-that-dont-seem-special-to-you/81196/15 "2001-09-13T20:46:25Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by MonkeyMensch \* > Glenn Close. Maybe my memory’s failing me but I can’t recall anything she’s done that has impressed me. Have you seen Dangerous Liaisons? I think she’s incredible in this movie. Actually, I thought she was pretty good in Fatal Attraction, though the rewritten ending undercut everything that was engrossing about this movie. She’s also good in Reversal of Fortune, which is one of my favorite movies. However, I thought she was repulsive in the live 101 Dalmation movies. I refused to see them; she looked to bizarre. ---
**Author:** ![magdalene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df788c/32.png) [@magdalene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magdalene)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2001, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-actresses-that-dont-seem-special-to-you/81196/16 "2001-09-13T21:00:00Z")
I am so over Charlize Theron. May the 15 minutes end. ---
**Author:** ![Ferrous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Ferrous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferrous)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2001, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-actresses-that-dont-seem-special-to-you/81196/17 "2001-09-13T21:19:53Z")
I cannot _stand_ Sharon Stone (“she can’t act, but she sure can moan”) or Laura Dern (bloody awful in Jurrasic Park, and so was Sam Neill) But I _do_ like Helent Hunt and Sandra Bullock. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2001, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-actresses-that-dont-seem-special-to-you/81196/18 "2001-09-13T22:39:03Z")
I second (or is it third?) Julia Roberts. I cannot dredge up any sympathy, empathy, or any pathy for any character she plays. Actually, Gwyneth Paltrow has this effect on me, too. No emotional response from me for any of her characters. It’s not that they’re not good actors; I just can’t connect to them emotionally at all. I can never look at them in character and forget about the Julia/Gwyneth that I just read about in the tabloids. Angelina Jolie - her lips just scare me. I can’t track anything she’s saying, cause I can’t take my eyes off those freaky lips. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2001, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-actresses-that-dont-seem-special-to-you/81196/19 "2001-09-13T22:48:28Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by MonkeyMensch \* > \*\*Glenn Close. Maybe my memory’s failing me but I can’t recall anything she’s done that has impressed me. \*\* I know that actors are just acting and you shouldn’t try to read any part of the characters they play into what they’re really like. However. The first time I ever saw Glenn Close in a movie was _The World According to Garp_ as Jenny Fields, Garp’s mother. I absolutely hated Jenny in the book and Close’s portrayal fit the character so well that I can’t look at Close now without feeling some bit of disgust. Stupid, I know, but whaddya gonna do? Sorry, Glenn, you were just to damned good at that role. ---
**Author:** ![BingoBurringo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/43a26b/32.png) [@BingoBurringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BingoBurringo)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2001, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-actresses-that-dont-seem-special-to-you/81196/20 "2001-09-14T03:52:11Z")
What is it about Angelina Jolie’s lust for shock value in every interview she gives that just makes me want to punch her? Juliet Binoche’s perennial aloofness was tiresome ten years ago. Now it’s totally maddening. Oh, and Babs. Definitely Babs. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-actresses-that-dont-seem-special-to-you/81196.md?page=2)